Top Historic Sights in Stockholm, Sweden
Explore the historic highlights of Stockholm
Storkyrkan
Storkyrkan (Great Church, Stockholm Cathedral), officially Church of St. Nicholas, is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. It was first mentioned in 1279 and according to tradition was originally built by Birger Jarl, the founder of the city itself. For nearly four hundred years it was the only parish church in the city, the other churches of comparible antiquity originally built to serve th ...
Founded: 1279 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Finnish Church
Finland was a part of Sweden until 1809, and the national parish of the Finnish Church was established in Stockholm in 1533, at the time accommodated in the old abbey of the Blackfriars. A building constructed on the present site 1648-1653, originally intended for ball games, and thus called Lilla bollhuset ('Small Ball House'), but mostly used as a theatre, was taken over by the Finnish parish in 1725 from when ...
Founded: 1648-1653 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Axel Oxenstierna Palace
Axel Oxenstierna palace in the Old Town of Stockholm was designed by architect Jean de la Vallée to Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna and the construction started in 1653. The palace became the headquarters for the 1668-1680 Swedish Central Bank and after a series of state institutional policy. The palace is uniquely conserved in particular to the exterior. There are state historic building since 1935 and is one of the Swedis ...
Founded: 1653 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Gamla Stan
Gamla Stan, The Old Town, consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The town dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, and archaic architecture. North German architecture has had a strong influence in the Old Town's construction. Gamla Stan is one of the best preserved old towns in Northern Europe. The center of Gamla Stan is Stortorget, the scenic large square, which is sur ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Tessin Palace
Tessin Palace is a baroque town house located in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm. The mansion was constructed between 1694 and 1700 by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. The building was inherited by Tessin"s son Carl Gustaf Tessin who had to sell it in 1750 for financial reasons. The palace later became property of the crown and has been used as residence for the Over Governor and later Governor o ...
Founded: 1694-1700 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Royal Palace
The Stockholm Palace (Kungliga Slottet) is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. The offices of the monarch and the other members of the Swedish Royal Family as well as the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located there. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state. The first building on this site was a fortress with a ...
Founded: 17th - 18th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
German Church
The German Church, or the Church of Saint Gertrude, was founded in 1571. it started as a Guild Lounge for german merchantmen in Stockholm who where a large part of the population in the 16th century. Hans Jakob Kristler enlarged the chapel in 1638-1642 to the present two-nave church. During the 17th century, while the choir of the school participated at the royal concerts, the church became an important centre for church ...
Founded: 1571 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Vasa Museum
The Vasa Museum (Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum displaying the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628. Opened in 1990, the Vasa Museum is one of the most visited museums in Scandinavia. The main hall contains the ship itself and various exhibits related to the archaeological findings of the ships and early 17th century Swede ...
Founded: 1990 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Saint James's Church
The origin of the Saint James's Church dates back to a chapel belonging to the Solna parish and at the time built on the outskirts of the parish. It is first mentioned in 1311. The present church, originally founded in the 16th century, took a long time to complete. As a consequence it includes a wide range of architectonic styles, such as Late Gothic,Renaissance and Baroque, the design of architects: Willem Boy (1580-159 ...
Founded: 16th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm City Museum
The Stockholm City Museum documents and exhibits the history of Stockholm. It was opened to the public in 1942 and located in the palace completed in 1685. The museum is the largest municipal museum in Sweden, and houses collections which include 300,000 items of historical interest; 20,000 works of art and 3 million photographs. The museum has two permanent exhibitions, one called "The Stockholm Exhibition - Based on a ...
Founded: 1942 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Bonde Palace
Bonde Palace (Bondeska palatset) is located between the House of Knights (Riddarhuset) and the Chancellery House (Kanslihuset). It is, arguably, the most prominent monument of the era of the Swedish Empire (1611–1718), originally design by Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and Jean De la Vallée in 1662-1667 as the private residence of the Lord High Treasurer Gustaf Bonde (1620–1667) it still bears his name, wh ...
Founded: 1662-1667 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Arvfursten Palace
Arvfursten Palace (Arvfurstens palats) is located at Gustav Adolfs Torg in central Stockholm. Designed by Erik Palmstedt, the palace was originally the private residence of Princess Sophia Albertina. It was built 1783-1794 and declared a historical monument in 1935 and subsequently restored by Ivar Tengbom in 1948-52. Since 1906 the palace has served as the seat of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The palace is facing t ...
Founded: 1783-1794 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
House of Nobility
The House of Nobility (Riddarhuset, “the House of Knights”) was built in 1641-1672 as a chamber of Estates of the Realm, and as such, a Swedish equivalent to the British House of Lords. After 1866, when the Riksdag of the Estates was replaced by the new parliament, the Swedish House of Nobility served as a quasi-official representation of the Swedish nobility, regulated by the Swedish government. Since 2003, i ...
Founded: 1641-1672 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Skansen Open Air Museum
Skansen is the first open air museum and zoo in Sweden. It was founded in 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833-1901) to show the way of life in the different parts of Sweden before the industrial era. Skansen attracts more than 1.3 million visitors each year. The many exhibits over the 75 acre (300,000 m²) site include a full replica of an average 19th-century town, in which craftsmen in traditional dress such as tanners, shoema ...
Founded: 1891 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Hallwyl Palace
The Hallwyl Palace was built 1893-1898 to the design of Isak Gustaf Clason for Count Walther von Hallwyl and his wife Wilhelmina. It was created to accommodate the office of the count and the extensive art collection of the countess. While the exterior of the building and the court is historical in style — borrowing architectonic elements from medieval prototypes and Renaissance Venice — it was technically utterly mod ...
Founded: 1893-1898 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Riddarholmen Church
The Riddarholmen Church (Riddarholmskyrkan) is the burial church of the Swedish monarchs. The congregation was dissolved in 1807 and today the church is used only for burial and commemorative purposes. Swedish monarchs from Gustavus Adolphus (d. 1632 AD) to Gustaf V (d. 1950) are entombed here (with exceptions such as Queen Christina who is buried within St. Peter's Basilica in Rome), as well as the earlier monarchs Magnu ...
Founded: ca. 1270-1300 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Klara Church
The convent and church of St. Clare was founded on the site in 1280s. It was to be one of the very first convents to be dissolved during the Swedish Reformation. Gustav Vasa had the church and convent torn down in 1527. The new Lutheran church, built under the order of King John III in 1572, is a cruciform shaped. It has the second highest tower in Scandinavia, over one hundred metres high. The interior contains a fine a ...
Founded: 1572 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace is a townhouse mansion on Riddarholmen islet in the old town of Stockholm. The southern tower used to be part of Gustav Vasa"s defence fortifications from the 1530s. Around 1630, the mansion was turned into a palace for Lars Sparre. From 1652 to 1670, the palace was rebuilt and expanded by architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder for Count Carl Gustaf Wrangel. After a fire in 1693, the palace was rebuilt a ...
Founded: 1652-1670 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Skeppsholmskyrkan
Skeppsholmskyrkan is a church on the islet of Skeppsholmen, secularized in 2002. Named after its location, the church was built 1823-1849 to replace a minor wooden church on Blasieholmen destroyed in the devastating fire of 1822. Inaugurated by King Charles XIV John and still officially carrying his name, it was designed by the architect Fredrik Blom as a neoclassical octahedral temple inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, bo ...
Founded: 1823-1849 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Saint Eric's Cathedral
Saint Eric's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located on Södermalm. It was built in 1892 and was raised to the status of a cathedral in 1953, when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockholm was created (still the only one in Sweden). The substantial increase in the number of Catholics in Stockholm and Sweden, mostly as a result of immigration after World War II, made the old church insufficient, and an extension, ...
Founded: 1892 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Maria Magdalena Church
The history of Maria Magdalena Church dates back to the 1350s when King Magnus Eriksson with the permission of Pope Clement VI had a funeral chapel built on the location and dedicated it to Mary Magdalene. When Gustav Vasa liberated Stockholm in the early 1520s, his troops led by Peder Fredag encamped in the chapel and suffered severe losses when the troops of Christian II of Denmark attacked from the city. This might hav ...
Founded: 1588-1634 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Adolf Fredriks kyrka
Adolf Fredriks kyrka ("The Church of Adolf Frederick") was built in 1768-1774, replacing a wooden chapel from 1674, which was dedicated to Saint Olof. René Descartes was first buried to the cemetery in 1650 (before his remains were moved to France). Inside the church is a memorial to the memory of Descartes installed by Gustav III. Other famous people buried in the church cemetery include Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palm ...
Founded: 1768-1774 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
St. Paul's Church
St. Paul's Church, also known as St. Paul's Chapel, is an 1876 Methodist church located in Mariatorget, a square and a city park in Södermalm, central Stockholm. The church was designed by the Swedish architects and brothers Axel and Hjalmar Kumlien.
Founded: 1876 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Strindberg Museum
The Strindberg Museum (Strindbergsmuseet) is dedicated to the writer August Strindberg and located in his last dwelling, in the house he nicknamed the "Blå tornet" (The Blue Tower). The Museum is owned by the Strindberg Society of Sweden and was inaugurated in 1973. Strindberg moved to the house in 1908 and lived there until his death in 1912. The Museum consists of Strindberg's flat and library, as well as an area for ...
Founded: 1973 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
K.A. Almgren Silk Weaving
The silk mill of K.A. Almgren is one the oldest preserved industrial environments in Scandinavia and the only remaining mill north of the Alps. It was founded by Knut August Almgren in 1833 when he got the license to manufacture silk products. only couple of decades later the silk mill was Scandinavias largest workplace for women. The same family produced silk during five generations. The weawing mill was closed down in ...
Founded: 1833 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Hedvig Eleonora Church
Hedvig Eleonora Church was consecrated in 1737 and is named after the Swedish Queen Hedvig Eleonora (1636-1715), wife of King Charles X of Sweden. Hedvig Eleonora Church is an octagonal church. It is one of Stockholm's most popular for weddings, christenings and funerals.
Founded: 1737 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Swedish Army Museum
The Swedish Army Museum, was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005. Its displays illustrate the military history of Sweden, including its modern policy of neutrality, and of the Swedish Army. The building was erected in the 17th century as an arsenal for the production and storage of artillery weapons. The exhibition includes life-size figures of soldiers of past centuries, as well as scenes of the gr ...
Founded: 2002 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Katarina Church
Katarina kyrka (Church of Catherine) was originally constructed in 1656–1695. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by fires, the second time during the 1990s. The Katarina-Sofia borough is named after theparish and the neighbouring parish of Sofia. Construction of the church started during the reign of Charles X of Sweden, and the church is named after Princess Catherine, mother of the king, wife of John Cas ...
Founded: 1656-1695 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
National Historical Museum
The National Historical Museum (Historiska muséet) covers Swedish cultural history and art from the Stone Age to the 16th century. The museum is known for its so called "Gold Room" (Guldrummet) by the architect Leif Blomberg, where a large number of gold objects are kept as part of the exhibition. The museum hosts also the largest Viking exhibition, with more than 4,000 original artifacts.
Founded: 1866 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Kastellet
Kastellet is a small citadel located on the islet Kastellholmen. The first fortification on the location was built in 1667 designed by Erik Dahlbergh. It exploded in June 1845 and subsequently a new was built 1846-1848 to the design of architect Fredrik Blom. It consists of a round tower with red brick walls and a 20 meter high stair tower. On the top flies the Military Ensign of Sweden, it is hoisted and lowered every da ...
Founded: 1846-1848 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Sofia Church
Sofia Church, named after Sofia of Nassau 1836-1913 (Queen of Sweden 1872-1907), is one of the major churches in Stockholm. It was designed during an architectural contest in 1899, and was inaugurated in 1906.
Founded: 1906 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Waldemarsudde Palace
Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde is a museum located on Djurgården in central Stockholm. It was the former home of the Swedish Prince Eugen, who discovered the place in 1892, when he rented a house there for a few days. Seven years later he bought the premises and had a new house designed by the architect Ferdinand Boberg, who also designed Rosenbad (the Prime Minister"s Office and the Government Chancellery), and erecte ...
Founded: 1903 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Kungsholm Church
The Baroque style Kungsholm Church was built in 1672-1688 and it was designed by Matthias Spihler. Anyway the tower, designed also by Spihler, was not erected until in 1810. The finest inventory in Kungsholm church is a font dating from 1707. It was donated by Elsa Guthermuth.
Founded: 1672-1688 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Vaxholm Castle
Vaxholm Castle was originally constructed by Gustav Vasa in 1544 to defend Stockholm against shipborne attacks from the east, but most of the current structure dates from 1833-1863. The stretch of water below the building was formerly the main sea route to Stockholm. Thus, the fortress was strategically situated to defend the city from naval attacks. The castle was attacked by the Danes in 1612 and the Russian navy in 171 ...
Founded: 1544, 1833-1863 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Gustav III's Pavilion
Gustav III's Pavilion is a royal pavilion at the Haga Park. As a highlight in Swedish art history, the Pavilion is a fine example of the European neoclassicism of the late 18th century in Northern Europe. The pavilion was built in 1787 by the architect Olof Tempelman with detailed instructions from King Gustav III who was highly personally involved in the project, producing some basic designs himself and suggesting change ...
Founded: 1787 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the National City Park. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat. He later passed on to his son, Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, from whom it was purchased in 1669 by Queen Hedvig Eleonora. The present design is mainly the work of archite ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Skogskyrkogården
Skogskyrkogården (“The Woodland Cemetery”) is a cemetery founded in 1917. Its design reflects the development of architecture from national romantic style to mature functionalism. Skogskyrkogården came about following an international competition in 1915 for the design of a new cemetery in Enskede. The design of the young architects Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz was selected. Work began in 1917 on land that ha ...
Founded: 1917 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Rosendal Palace
Rosendal Palace (Rosendals slott) is a Swedish royal pavilion located at the Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm. It was built between 1823 and 1827 for King Karl XIV Johan, the first Bernadotte King of Sweden. It was intended as an escape from the formalities of court life at the Royal Palace. Rosendal Palace was largely designed by Fredrik Blom, one of the leading architects of the time, who received a roy ...
Founded: 1823-1827 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Hässelby Castle
Hässelby Castle (Hässelby slott) was built first in the 1640s by the riksråd Karl Bonde, who owned it until his death 1652. The original architect was Simon de la Vallée and the castle was finished about the 1660s by his son Jean de la Vallée, when Karl"s son Gustaf Bonde owned it. The Bonde noble family owned the castle until 1931, when Stockholms stad bought it until 2010. Since 2010 S ...
Founded: 1640-1670 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Bromma Church
Bromma church is a medieval so-called round church. The oldest parts of the church were built in the later 12th century as a fortress church, and the church is among Stockholm's oldest buildings. Originally the church consisted of the round house and a choir on the east side. The nave and the sacristy were constructed in the mid 15th century, built in stone. In the 1480s Albertus Pictor or his pupils painted more than for ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Solna Church
The medieval church of Solna is a so-called round church. The oldest part of the church, the roundhouse, originates from the late 12th century, and was especially built for defense purposes. Attached to this round center is a weaponhouse (south), a rectangular choir to the east, and a rectangular nave to the west. North of the choir is the sacristy, and to the east an octagonal grave choir. There is a second grave choir o ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Kristineberg Palace
Kristineberg Palace in Kungsholmen was built around 1750 for the businessman R. Schröder. The palace was surrounded by parks and the property included a great deal of the surrounding land. In 1864 the property was bought by the Swedish Freemasonry and additional construction on the palace was made. Stockholm City bought the land in 1921 and started building the Kristineberg district, and today part of the palace is u ...
Founded: 1750 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Brännkyrka Church
Oldest parts of the Brännkyrka church was built in the 12th century. There are notes that there has been four serious fires in the church. It is assumed that the name Brännkyrka ('burnt church') was given after a fire around 1400, since it was named 'Vantör' before that time.
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden
Spånga Church
The oldest part of the Spånga Church origins from the time period 1175-1200. Large reconstructions and enhancements took place during the 14th century and the 15th century. Baron Gustaf Bonde (1620-1667), owner of the nearby Hässelby castle, made considerable donations to the church. After his death a grave choir, drawn by the architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, was attached as a continuation of the church, i ...
Founded: 1175-1200 |
Location:
Stockholm, Sweden